Beginnings

How To Have Yours

The Best Time Of Your Business?

 

 

So, you are sitting around in your “comfortable“, or your “contemplative” place. You know the place I mean. Don’t you? Good!

For some reason, known or unknown to you, the world you inhabit (and the way you see it, you know–from YOUR perspective) have been calling out to you lately. Your inner voice has been calling out for you, needing your attention. Or maybe some external “thing” has been trying to reach inside your world to consult you on a matter important to it–but not necessarily of equal importance to you or your world. Or, is it?

That’s the thing, isn’t it? If we knew, in advance, how important such moments would, or could be to us and  our worlds, we would probably pay more focused attention to them. Such moments have, through the ages, gone by different names. Inspiration, tragedy, serendipity, opportunity, crisis, a “Eureka” moment, realization…there have always been names for such times in the life of a human. They seem to just occur, “out of the blue”. We are skipping down the path of our life, and we suddenly trip and fall on our face. Did we? Or did the Earth move beneath our feet? Are we a klutz, or did we just experience an earthquake tremor?

It is only much later that we realize most (but not all) moments such as these have occurred by design, not by default. You have been at some moment on your life’s journey, and one or more unexpected circumstance(s) have merged into your sub-conscience. They will usually wait for you to show up, and take up some of your time, or your peace. The longer these occurrences just hang around feeling ignored (or unidentified) by you, one of two things usually happens:

1. They figure out that the importance to you they feel isn’t, and they go away. (They may return later.)
2. They begin knocking on your conscience louder, and more often until you at least recognize them as wanting or needing your attention. You give it. Things happen.

Sometimes, however, these realities converge violently, as things (as they often do) happen without warning–at the speed of life.

Take Dan, for instance. He has been a super successful outdoor guide and outfitter in the headwaters of the Yosemite river for over a decade. His “thing” is guiding groups to some of the very best fishing sites in the United States on 1, 3, 7, 14, or the occasional 21 day outdoor adventure. He’s very good at it. He makes an extremely comfortable living at it, too. So do tens of his life-strong buddies who do the same thing, in the same town as Dan.

Dan doesn’t watch a lot of television, and he doesn’t do much with his computer except book excursions for his business. After ten successful years, Dan doesn’t have to go looking for business. Business comes to his doorstep (literally!), seeking him out. Dan’s business model is to be completely booked for the season–by Easter!

But Dan DOES pay attention to the River. For the past six months (his busy season) of this year, Dan has been growing more and more concerned about the River. Fishing for his excursions has been slowing. At first, it was a very gradual diminution of success among his customers. But it continued through this season, and it kept getting worse. On a few excursion outings, his customers were finding themselves in their kayaks on the Yosemite river as dead fish floated by. At first, it was a few. Then, it was a steady stream.

Last week (October, 2016), a senior representative from the US Department of the Interior called Dan, while he was working with a large, and (completely pre-paid group excursion) on the River. He told him to land his excursion. The River was closed, and would be for at least the rest of this season, and all of next season. In one phone call, Dan had three hours to end his season, and most likely his business.

What happened?

The River was warming up. “White fish”, a relative of the Trout, live in a very fragile ecosystem that requires cold water to thrive, or even live. As the water warmed up, the fish developed a problem that eventually killed them; a bacteria that only found its life in warmer waters that had not existed in Dan’s lifetime on “the River”, as he and his fellow outfitter/Guides had called it for their entire lives. The very ecosystem which had, for generations, supported Dan’s industry was now so ill that it very well might not survive. The bacteria killing the fish was external to the fish (on their scales), and was IN the River. The kayaks, canoes and boats had to be landed to keep the bacteria from spreading to other places, other rivers. There was nothing to be done for the fish for the foreseeable future. Would the Rive take care of itself? How long would it take? What was going to happen to Dan, his business, his family?

“What can I do?” Dan asked the DOI guy. The answer?

“If I were you, Dan, I would seriously consider some form of retraining. Your business is most likely finished for your lifetime; maybe for the next several generations. The River may never come back.” From the headwaters of the Yosemite River, until its confluence with the Missouri River, some very bad things are happening…today–on “the River”.

One of those moments. Through no fault of his own, reality came knocking on Dan’s forever. It was not a kind, gentle, pleasant knock. Dan’s got a wife and three kids. The River is the means of income for the entire community where Dan lives. They could lose their town.

Violent reality. Climate reality. Economic reality. Physical reality. Financial reality. Emotional reality. Spiritual reality.

The guys and gals that put meat on Dan’s table, you see, love to drink beer, laugh loud, and swim while they fish the River. Cold and wet isn’t the business model for this place. Winter fishing doesn’t happen here, and couldn’t if it did. The River is sick, you see.

Dan is inhabiting his “place” these a lot days. He has no choice, that he knows of anyway.

How do I know all this?

Well, I know Dan. He called me.

What in the world can I tell Dan? What can I offer his reality?

That’s MY job. That’s what I do. That IS MY business.

I have a lot to share with Dan. Dan is suddenly, very interested in what I have to offer him. Dan is currently doing some (as my Grandmother used to call it) “hard listening”.

I can offer Dan a beginning; a new beginning.

Sometimes, things just happen at the speed of life. This environmental moment has been coming toward the River for some time, but it was so subtle nobody took note of it. They’re noticing now.

More on Dan’s Dilemma later.

Look around, and see if there is a creeping reality in your world today that might need some serious attention. Is YOUR income safe, dependable, and satisfactory? Is your industry healthy and thriving? Are all YOUR needs, dreams and desires being met to your satisfaction?

Dan’s were. Until they weren’t. And, he never saw it coming.